The notion of corporate social responsibility (CSR) has gained momentum and is currently of strategic importance for many companies. Among Fortune 50… - Christian Homburg

Little is known about the interface between separate marketing units and sales units. This article develops a multidimensional model of the marketing and sales interface. The model integrates a broad range of conceptual domains, including information sharing, structural linkages, power, orientations, and knowledge of marketing and sales. The authors empirically explore the conceptual model through a cross-industry study of 337 European Union–based companies. They identify five empirical archetypes of the marketing and sales interface. The taxonomy shows that the role and characteristics of marketing and sales vary a great deal. This finding challenges existing stereotypes about marketing and sales. Finally, the article explores organizational outcomes of the five configurations. The findings suggest that the most successful configurations are characterized by strong structural linkages between marketing and sales and a high extent of market knowledge in marketing.

Cross-functional KAM companies stand out with respect to both performance in the market and adaptiveness.

People define themselves in terms of both unique individualizing attributes and collective attributes of the groups to which they belong.